1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a broadcast-program-listing transmission device and terminal devices connected thereto via a network or the like, wherein the broadcast-program-listing transmission device transmits listings of broadcast programs or program-guide information to the terminal devices so as to display the listings of broadcast programs or the program-guide information on display screens of the terminal devices. The present invention particularly relates to a broadcast-program-listing transmission device which allows settings to be easily made at the sites of the terminal devices for automatic receiving/recording of broadcast programs due to go on the air at scheduled future times, and relates to a terminal device which activates a receiver and/or a recorder according to settings made by the broadcast-program-listing transmission device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, when preparing a receiver for automatic reception of a broadcast program due to go on the air at a later time, a user makes settings to the receiver such as a television set or a radio so that the receiver will be tuned to a relevant broadcasting station at an indicated future time. When preparing a recorder for automatic recording of a broadcast program due to go on the air at a later time, a user sets the recorder such as a videocassette recorder or a cassette recorder in order to activate the recorder at a requested future time.
In either case, the user has to go through manual handling of the receiver or the recorder in order to make necessary settings. No reliable technology is yet available to allow the user to make reception/recording settings through a simple operation.
In recent years, however, progress of use of networks such as the Internet has helped to create new services. Each broadcast station keeps information on broadcast programs of its own station in files. Upon a request from a terminal device connected via a network, a broadcast station reads broadcast-program information from the files, and sends the information to the terminal device via the network. In this manner, the terminal device can display a listing of broadcast programs on the display screen with respect to each broadcast station.
Accordingly, there is a need for a broadcast-program-listing transmission device which allows settings to be easily made for automatic receiving/recording of broadcast programs due to go on the air at scheduled future times. Also, there is a need for a terminal device which activates a receiver and/or a recorder according to settings made by the broadcast-program-listing transmission device, wherein the broadcast-program-listing transmission device transmits listings of broadcast programs to the terminal devices connected via a network or the like so as to display the listings of broadcast programs on display screens of the terminal devices.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a broadcast-program-listing transmission device and a terminal device which can satisfy the need described above.
It is another and more specific object of the present invention to provide a broadcast-program-listing transmission device which allows settings to be easily made for automatic receiving/recording of broadcast programs due to go on the air at scheduled future times.
In order to achieve the above objects according to the present invention, a device for sending broadcast-program information to a plurality of terminal devices connected via a network so that the plurality of terminal devices display the broadcast-program information on display screens thereof includes an addition unit attaching at least one of a reception setting button and a recording setting button to broadcast-program information which is to be sent to a terminal device, the reception setting button and the recording setting button being used in the terminal device for issuing a request to make settings for automatic receiving and recording, respectively, of a selected broadcast program, an execution-information extracting unit obtaining execution information in response to the request, the execution information specifying information necessary for making the settings, and a transmission unit sending the execution information to the terminal device.
The device described above transmits the broadcast-program information including at least one of the reception setting button and the recording setting button to the terminal device, and further transmits the execution information to the terminal device so as to allow the terminal device to make settings for automatic receiving/recording of a selected broadcast program based on the execution information. This execution information is transmitted from the device in response to a button operation performed on the side of the terminal device. That is, a user of the terminal device needs only a button operation on the reception setting button and/or the recording setting button in order to make the settings. In this manner, settings for automatic receiving/recording of broadcast programs can be readily made.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a terminal device which activates a receiver and/or a recorder according to settings made by the broadcast-program-listing transmission device, wherein the broadcast-program-listing transmission device transmits listings of broadcast programs or the like to the terminal devices connected via a network or the like so as to display the listings of broadcast programs or the like on display screens of the terminal devices.
In order to achieve the above object according to the present invention, a device for receiving broadcast-program information from a transmission device connected via a network and for displaying the broadcast-program information on a display screen includes a receiving unit receiving execution information from the transmission device, the execution information specifying information necessary for making settings for at least one of automatic receiving and automatic recording of a selected broadcast program, a setting-file unit storing the execution information, a check unit checking if a date and time specified in the execution information has arrived, and an instruction unit giving at least one of a first instruction to a receiver to receive the selected broadcast program and a second instruction to a recorder to record the selected broadcast program based on the execution information when the date and time has arrived.
The device as described above can control a receiver to receive broadcast programs and/or a recorder to record broadcast programs based on the execution information sent from the broadcast-program transmission device.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the execution information includes a channel number, an aired or broadcast date, a starting time, and an ending time of the selected broadcast program. Based on this execution information, the device described above can control the receiver and/or the recorder via the instruction unit such as a remote controller to set the channel, turn on the receiver and/or the recorder, and turn off the receiver and/or the recorder.
Other objects and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.